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Fire lookout · Kittitas County, Washington

Quartz Mountain Lookout Site (Wenatchee NF)

Also known as Quartz Mountain

Kittitas County, Wenatchee NF: a 1929 platform, a 1933 steel tower and a 1938 L-4 at the true summit, removed in 1967; drive-up today, with communications towers.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. Forest Service roads reach the summit. Willhite says most vehicles can reach the top; the last 3 miles of gravel have potholes.

Road to the top?
Yes, you can drive up
Trail
Drive-up or under one mile to the summit, by Forest Service roads from Ellensburg (exit 109) or Cle Elum. No lookout tower stands to climb.

Facts

Status
Gone sources disagree
Type
Cab on a towerPlatform tower and tent camp (1929); steel tower (1933); 40 ft pole L-4 tower at the true summit (1938)The design: L-4
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1929
Height
40 ft (12.2 m)
Elevation
6,390 ft (1,948 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Kittitas County, Washington
Coordinates
47.07442, −121.08087
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-quartz-mountain-wenatchee-nf

View from the cab

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This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and its recorded height.

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History

Then and now

  1. 1929 BuiltFirst lookout: a platform tower and tent campSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1933 Replaced by a new structureSteel tower with a 6 by 6 ft cab; the register and FireLookout.com say 45 ft, Willhite and a 1937 newspaper say 40 ftSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1937 StaffedWilliam Hutchins at the lookout; the Wenatchee Daily World reported eight summers at the stationSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1938 Replaced by a new structure40 ft pole L-4 tower built at the true summit to the east; garage and woodshed plans approved in May 1938Sources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  5. No record between 1938 and 1967
  6. 1967 Removed40 ft pole L-4 removed; FireLookout.com says destroyedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  7. 1973 FireForest Service put out a 20 by 20 ft fire at the old lookout (Ellensburg Daily Record)Source: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1973 and 2012
  9. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered August 15, 2012 as US 1378, WA 278; nominated by Ray KresekSource: firetower.org
  10. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Quartz Mountain Lookout Site sits in Kittitas County, about ten miles southwest of Cle Elum, in the Wenatchee National Forest.1,2

The first lookout here was built in 1929 as a platform tower with a tent camp.1,3 In 1933 a steel tower replaced it.1,2 The register and FireLookout.com give that tower's height as 45 feet.1,2 Willhite's guide and a 1937 newspaper give 40 feet.4,3

In 1937 William Hutchins was the lookout.4 A Wenatchee Daily World article from that year, quoted on Forest Lookouts, says he had spent eight summers at the station, and that his family lived in a cabin near the tower.4

In May 1938 plans were approved for a combined garage and woodshed.4 That same year the lookout moved to a new 40-foot pole L-4 tower, set east of the 1933 site, on the true summit, among trees.1,3

The L-4 was removed in 1967.1,3 FireLookout.com says it was destroyed that year.2

In August 1973 the Forest Service put out a 20-by-20-foot fire at the old lookout, according to an Ellensburg paper quoted on Forest Lookouts.4

Today the summit is a drive-up spot.3 Willhite's guide says most vehicles can reach the top, and a campground just below the summit still exists, though it is much smaller.3 The forested area at the true summit holds communications towers, and that is where the 1938 lookout stood.3 Willhite's photo captions describe the 1933 site with its footings nearly gone.3

Access is by Forest Service roads from Ellensburg (exit 109) or Cle Elum.3 The last three miles of gravel have potholes.3 No lookout tower has stood on the summit since 1967.1,3

  1. Quartz Mountain Lookout Site (Wenatchee NF), Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/quartz-mountain-lookout-site-wenatchee-nf/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Quartz Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, FireLookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/quartzmtn163.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Quartz Mountain Lookout - Map & Pictures, WillhiteWeb.com, http://willhiteweb.com/hiking/cle_elum/quartz_mountain/lookout_192.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Quartz Mountain - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Forest Lookouts (washingtonlookouts.weebly.com), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/quartz-mountain2.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Quartz Mountain Lookout 1958
Quartz Mountain Lookout 1958 (1958)Photo: Rex Kamstra collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Quartz Mountain Lookout 1967
Quartz Mountain Lookout 1967 (1967)Photo: Rex Kamstra collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on whether it still stands.

    • FFLA: Gone
    • FFLOS: Gone
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: Gone
    • OpenStreetMap: Standing

    firelookout.com lists it, but not on its map of standing lookouts.

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: links firelookout.com · No licence stated on the site; facts only (coordinates, elevation, built/destroyed years, design, agency). Photos mirrored with the site's stated credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: height, links Ron Kemnow's Forest Lookouts sites (westlookouts, californialookouts, idaholookouts, montanalookouts, oregonlookouts and washingtonlookouts .weebly.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, status word, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, township-range-section, height and design hints, links). The site's own newspaper quotes, citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  6. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, agency, access, staffing, visiting details, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

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